In 2000, the sculptor Evangelos Moustakas won the competition to create a monument in honour of the Greek Aviators who fell in the line of duty. In collaboration with the architect Ioannis Moustakas, they came up with a composition that would depict the figure of Icarus, the hero of ancient Greek mythology, whose wings were burnt because he flew too close to the sun. The allegory is obvious: the Greek Aviators lost their lives trying to conquer the skies, due to the high ideals of their role. The impressive brass work of art depicts the seven-metre-high mythological Icarus in a heroic fall from the sky to the top of the pyramid, which is located on the ground. In front of the monument, the composition is complemented by a small memorial stele, which bears a metal laurel branch, a symbol of glory and honour, as well as the name of the work of art.
Main Bibliography
- Bury John – Meiggs Russell, A History of Greece. To the Death of Alexander the Great, Translated by Rouli Tataki, K. N. Petropoulos, Anna Papadimitriou - Grammenou, Konstantinos Buraselis, Angelos Matthaiou, Athens 2011.
- Αλεξάνδρου, μτφρ. Ρούλη Τατάκη, Κ. Ν. Πετρόπουλος, Άννα Παπαδημητρίου Γραμμένου,
- Κωνσταντίνος Μπουραζέλης, Άγγελος Ματθαίου, Αθήνα 2011.
- Lefèvre François, Histoire Du Monde Grec Antique, Translated by Anastasia Kefala, Mina Kardamitsa, Athens 2016.
- Καρδαμίτσα, Αθήνα 2016.
- Antonopoulou Zeta, Τα Γλυπτά της Αθήνας: Υπαίθρια Γλυπτική 1834-2004, Athens 2003.
- Karaiskou Vicky, Νεοελληνική Γλυπτική: Ματιές και αναγνώσεις, Athens 2011.
- Pavlopoulos Dimitris, Ζητήματα Νεοελληνικής Γλυπτικής, Athens 1998.
- Γλυπτά, Αθήνα 2020.
- Pavlopoulos Dimitris, Από τον Ιερό Λόχο στον Κωνσταντίνο ΙΒ’: Νεότερα Αθηναϊκά Γλυπτά, Athens 2020.
Main Webliography
http://www.athenssculptures.com
https://explore.cure-project.gr
https://www.thisiscrete.gr/gr/historical-monuments
https://www.wikipedia.org
Informations
Additional
Creator: Evangelos Moustakas (1930)
Date: 2000
Material: Granite and brass
Location: Karaiskaki Square, Metaxourgeio
Type: Memorial
Subject: Greek Aviators Donation
Access: Accessible all 24 hours
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